Dimensions
180 x 236 x 38mm
The only quotations dictionary that tells the stories behind the quotes.
Ever wondered where the phrase 'a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do' orginated? Or been puzzled by the fact that apparently Greta Garbo didn't really want to be alone and Caesar's dying words weren't 'Et tu, Brute?' Well, 'Brewer's Famous Quotations' is here to illuminate you - authoritative and entertaining by turns, it's the perfect book for browsers and the ultimate source of information on a vast range of problematic quotations, giving full details of date and source, as well as offering detailed insights into a host of misremembered or misattributed quotations.
HENRY MORTON STANLEY: 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' - The most famous greeting was put by Stanley to the Scottish explorer and missionary Dr David Livingstone at Ujiji, Lake Tanganiyka, on 10 November 1871 (though this date has been questioned). Stanley had been sent by the New York Herald to look for Livingstone who was missing on a journey in central Africa. In How I Found Livingstone (1872), Stanley described the moment: 'I would have run to him, only I was a coward in the presence of such a mob - would have embraced him, only, he being an Englishman, I did not know how he would receive me; so I did what cowardice and false pride suggested was the best thing - walked deliberately to him, took off my hat and said: 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' 'YES,' said he, with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly.'
